Many Canadians surely were snickering that the NHL draft was held in Los Angeles on Friday.

They probably figured it would be all red carpet and fluff. What a bizarre location for a city with more beach and stars than stars on ice.

But people don’t realize Southern California has some of the most zealous hockey fans around and the state is churning out an increasing number of top prospects. Hockey is no joke here.

The NHL draft definitely was substance with a little bit of style at Staples Center. The Kings had the steal of the day not on the draft board but in hosting the event. It was a first for Los Angeles, a place that’s seemingly been there and done that.

“This is a great day,” said Luc Robitaille, the former Kings star and Kings president of business operations. “We know the impact this can have on our young kids who play hockey in California.

“Our fans are proud to host this. We’re serious about hockey.”

So serious that the NHL sold out the ticket allotment for fans.

Attendance was 11,052, a statistic that would make the Clippers happy.

The draft was in Montreal from 1963-1984 and in Canada four of the previous five years. It was fitting it’s in the U.S. this weekend as a record-tying 10 U.S.-born players were drafted in the first round. Two of those selections, Beau Bennett and Emerson Etem, are from Southern California.

Robitaille said the Kings inquired about hosting in 2008. With the NHL awards in Las Vegas, the Kings pushed for the event this season.

He said he never dreamed of having this event in Los Angeles in his playing days. And some of his Canadian buddies couldn’t have dreamed the event would go over so well.

“I don’t think they expected a sellout,” Robitaille said. “Guys were telling me when it was in Columbus there was hardly anyone there.”

Staples Center wasn’t rocking like it does when Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are dunking, but that’s not how this event works.

All of the NHL teams have their “war rooms” on the floor, where ice normally resides. They’re not behind closed doors like the NFL draft. There are no player interviews on the floor and no circus acts between picks.

“It’s a quiet event,” Robitaille said. “We talked to the league about doing more entertainment, but the way the event is it’s about who’s coming up next (to the stage). There’s no sound.”

Fans filled the 300 sections to the rafters. The NHL gets tickets to the lower bowl, so there were fewer seats occupied there.

It was a quiet event until the Kings traded with Florida and moved up from 19th to 15th. Kings fans went crazy. The noise subsided considerably when they learned the selection was 18-year-old Derek Forbort, who played the past two seasons in the U.S. national development program.

The collective response was like: “Who’s this guy?”

Once Forbort donned his Kings jersey on stage, Kings fans applauded but not as much as they did for the trade.

Bennett, who’s from Gardena, was selected 20th by the Pittsburgh Penguins. What were the odds he would be able to drive to the draft?

There were some celebrity shenanigans. Actress Alyssa Milano was here, but then again, what sporting event doesn’t she attend? And “Entourage” actor Kevin Connelly took the microphone and announced the last pick of the first round, Brock Nelson by the New York Islanders.

Etem, who’s from Long Beach, had quite the entourage in Section 101.

He fell down the draft so low that if this was the NFL he would’ve been ushered to a back room sans camera like Brady Quinn.

But when Etem was chosen by the Ducks, he got a standing ovation and by far the loudest of the evening. Some Kings fans booed, but many cheered the local boy.

“The fans waited as long as I did,” Etem said.

Etem had so many hugs and handshakes he kept commissioner Gary Bettman waiting for quite a while.

Los Angeles shouldn’t have to wait so long to host the NHL draft again.

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